Orbital drilling machines are used to cut holes in workpieces by orbiting a rotating cutter about an orbital axis. The holes cut by orbital drilling machines have a hole diameter that is equal to the cutting diameter of the cutter plus an offset between the cutter and the orbital axis. Generally, orbital drilling machines provide some advantages over conventional drilling machines, such as improved hole quality, better evacuation of drill debris from hole-site, and cooler drilling temperatures.
Conventional orbital drilling machines facilitate the cutting of holes with various hole diameters by using a cutter with a non-adjustably fixed cutting diameter and adjusting the offset between the cutter and the orbital axis. The offset adjustment mechanisms employed by conventional orbital drilling machines are often large, complex, expensive, weak, and unreliable.